


Isle of Flightless Birds

by RetconRenegade



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen, in-universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 19:51:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14479959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetconRenegade/pseuds/RetconRenegade
Summary: Armin Arlert has always been a Law-Abiding Citizen: he teaches the local children and is the doctor in his hometown. He is kind and gentle.Covertly, along with the Commander of the Survey Corps, he's been uncovering the secrets that the government has been hiding for centuries. Nobody knows what he's been up to.Until the Military Police raid his home and arrest him.





	Isle of Flightless Birds

**Author's Note:**

> I initially started writing this for Armin Arlert Tribute Week (Day 3: Power) in 2016 when everybody thought that Armin had been burnt to a crisp. I never really intended to finish it, but here we are.
> 
> This was inspired by Isle of Flightless Birds by twenty one pilots. Go give it a listen, and you'll see how.
> 
> Setting: In-universe AU where Shiganshina never fell and everybody was just normal, except for Mikasa, whose Ackerman powers are still awakened.

Part 1: The Fall of Armin Arlert, A Law-Abiding Citizen

Power causes more trouble than what it's worth.

Hierarchy causes people to have power over others. Social hierarchy - wherever you happen to live, whether it be Maria, Rose, Sina - maybe even Mitras if you're lucky - dictates how we are perceived amongst others. What your job is - a teacher, a merchant, a doctor, or soldier - impacts how much respect you earn and power you have over other people who otherwise should be your equal.

Military hierarchy - being a part of the 'prestigious' Military Police, the under-appreciated Garrison, or the extremely disliked Survey Corps - dictates how you get to treat ordinary citizens.

We're not even the most powerful beings in the known world. We are all living in constant threat of something more powerful than us but decide to value our self-importance more than humanity itself as a whole. A lot of us are just clueless people who only care about saving their own skin, who will unwittingly set humanity on a path toward self-destruction.

I'm not saying that nobody should look after themselves or that everyone should be equal - I'm not exactly a fan of communism - there should be some kind of chain of command in line, otherwise how are we supposed to decide on laws and rules? How would society even function without some kind of leader? We need a government. Just not one that's so corrupted and wrong.

The worst thing is, the average citizen doesn't even realise it. Or, maybe they do, but they don't speak out. I don't blame them. Being a Law-Abiding Citizen has always been more important that freedom.

That was me. Everyone knew Armin Arlert as the incredibly smart doctor and teacher who was going to make all of their children geniuses. He was calm, kind, fair and understanding. He was a good man, and surely should have had a few women trying to marry him by now. But most of all, he was a Law-Abiding Citizen.

It's incredible how quickly people's perceptions can change.

It was only four days ago when the Military Police came bursting into my home in Shiganshina. I'd never moved away to Wall Rose despite having more than enough money to do so. Maybe it's nostalgia.

It's definitely nostalgia.

The MP usually never come to the outer walls, especially the city most likely to fall victim of Titan attacks, so the locals must have been more than suspicious when they turned up.

I was just reading. There were no children to teach and luckily, nobody had fallen ill. This was the only day of the week when I had any peace whatsoever; the past few had been incredibly hectic. Usually, I'd take whatever Law-Abiding Book I had been interested in outside, but it was miserable out there. It had been raining for over two hours and it didn't look like it was stopping.

So why would anybody be knocking at my door?

The streets of Shiganshina were always fairly empty whenever there was a downpour.

That's when the Military Police came charging in, not even letting me open the door, yelling all sorts and suddenly turning my living room into a tip. Two grabbed my arms, pinning them behind my back before I could react. I've never been very athletic to say the least, and so I was pretty much stuck. The MP is mostly made up of the elite top 10 soldiers from every Training Corps, so what little strength I had could do nothing to these trained soldiers.

Announcing my arrest, they dragged me out for all to see. To be honest, this was probably the most painful part.

The thing is, I lived a few doors down from Grisha and Carla Jaeger, Eren's and Mikasa's parents. They'd unfortunately become dependent on me when Eren died a few years back. He was always such an erratic and hot-headed person that he probably dived into a titan's mouth by mistake.

I miss him a lot.

Being one of the best soldiers to currently grace the Survey Corps means that Mikasa isn't able to come home often, if at all. I haven't seen her since Eren's funeral.

Mikasa asked me to look after her parents, as there was nobody else to do so. I was expecting it, Carla having no son, and me having no more family.

I never intended to replace Eren, but through the grief and the sadness, I think that maybe they got too attached to me.

Carla and Grisha were standing outside their door when I was being arrested. Carla was huddled in a scarf, looking so confused and mildly disgusted; Grisha had his arm around her and was shaking his head. I couldn't tell whether he was doing that at me or the police.

"Armin, what's happening?" He called out.

"I don't know, Grisha. I'm sorry."

One of the soldiers - Marlowe, I believe his name was - pinned my arms a little tighter behind me and steered me away. "No talking to civilians, you traitor."

"They're my step-parents," I lied, hoping that he'd let me go. Hopefully he wasn't so cold-hearted that he'd leave them standing in the rain and looking awfully confused.

"Tough, they can see you when you're in prison," he spat. No such luck, then. Two more MPs were waiting by the end of the street. They had guns. One looked terribly stern, but the other was smirking at Marlowe as he led me through.

From their homes, everybody was looking. The merchant, the lady that sold really good apples - she was staring. My tailor, the man who altered my clothing because I am a small man - was giving me a strange look. Even Hannah and Franz Kefka looked on, shocked. I'm sure they were unimpressed that the man who taught their precious little Micah was being dragged through the streets like some kind of criminal.

I was a criminal. Marlowe shouted something loftily at the Shiganshina folk, pushing his military police status in their faces as he forced me around an abandoned market stall at the end of the road. With even more force, he pushed me into a carriage and then got in beside me.

“Don’t think about going anywhere, Arlert, he said.

The smirking one struggled to stifle a laugh. “Calm it, Marlowe,” she smirked (no surprise there) as she mounted one of the horses. “Look at him. Look at us.”

“Hitch,” the stern-looking one sighed as he checked the other horse’s bridle.

“What? Seriously, Boris. This is going to be an easy case.”

Hitch’s words were true. They’d find my books and all my notes, my theories. What do I say to that? _“No, I don’t recognise those.” “That’s not my handwriting.” “I don’t even know what a colossal titan is!”_ All lies. And as much as I could probably fabricate a story in an attempt to save myself, I don’t see any part in lying. This is just one of the inevitabilities that come with seeing through the government. The persecution of intellectuals, just like Erwin’s father.

Ever since Eren and Mikasa joined the military, I’ve been liaising with the commander of the Survey Corps, Erwin Smith. He’s a man similar to me - one that wants to uncover the truth. And so was his father, who was silenced. Tortured and murdered by the Military Police.

I met him at a Survey Corps function of sorts - it was a rare day off for them, and Eren and Mikasa demanded that I come. That day I met many of their superiors - Captain Levi Ackerman, a no-nonsense kind of fellow who held his cups in the strangest fashion, and Dr Hanji Zoe, a titan fanatic whose zany personality lit up the room. There was Moblit, who trailed after Hanji like he was their caregiver, and Mike, who was known for having a remarkable sense of smell. And of course, Erwin.

To condense quite a long story, we ended up realising that we are two similar men working towards the same dream: that the truth is uncovered and unveiled before everyone in the walls. We exchanged addresses and the like and have been in cahoots ever since.

Once a month, we visited each other to discuss what we’ve found. He had the advantage of going outside the walls and having all the Survey Corps’ research privy to him. I had the advantage of being totally unassuming. I could sit inside my house and theorise without a single person knowing.

I guess that wasn’t true, because somehow, I was found out. Whoever did find me out just signed my death certificate. Or perhaps it was my grandfather that did so, giving me those illegal books that sparked the flame of curiosity in my brain. Seas of fire, lands of ice; surely, they must exist. Somewhere beyond our civilisation, there are things we could have never comprehended.

And now I’ll never be able to see them.

The rest of the journey to Mitras was fairly uneventful. I grew damp and stiff sitting upright, as every time I attempted to relax, Marlowe gave me such a look of contempt that I felt it willing me to sit properly. Even without him saying a word.

As we pulled up, more MPs surrounded our carriage before they even let me out. Pointless, as I’ve said multiple times before. Marlowe tied my arms behind my back before pushing me out into the grasp of them. When all the hustle and bustle stopped, I could just about see over an MP in front of me, and saw a dark-haired man wearing a bolo tie. He stood with a highly disinterested look on his face.

“To the detainment cells, sir?” One of the MPs asked him.

“No, no. Just a holding cell for that one.”

“Just a holding cell?” Hitch muttered to Boris. “Seems like Nile’s lost his touch for torture.”

“Mr. Dok was never that type of man. Zackley, on the other hand- “

_Nile Dok._ The name rung a very faint bell.

“Alright, you’re all dismissed. Thank you, particularly Dreyse, Feulner, Freudenberg, for your efforts,” he said, waving them away.

“But the crimin- “

“Leave him with me. I will be fine.”

Just like that, they let me go. I could have run away, but what good would that have done?

“I can trust you to come over to me without running off, I hope,” he shouted to me once they were all gone.

“Yes, sir.” I walked over to him, arms still tied tightly behind me. Nile Dok - where had I heard his name before? Was it the local newspapers? They reported on the most benign and uninteresting things, so perhaps not. Eren? Why would he know a Military Policeman?

When I had reached him, he nodded at me. “Right, Arlert. I’m going to take you to your holding cell. You’ll remain there until your trial in the coming days. Understand?”

“Yes sir.” We began to walk.

“Good. We can have a chat on our nice little walk, now.” _A nice walk that’s leading me to my death._

“You’re not the first of your kind Arlert, and you won’t be the last. There have been plenty like you - ambitious sensationalists who desire fame, or glory, or believe that they are special. That they can “open the eyes” of the world. In fact, I had a friend whose father was just like you.”

“How so?”

“He thought he made an incredible discovery, said too much, and was killed for it.”

_I have links everywhere. Me and Mike, our friend from our Cadet Corps days runs the MP now. Miserable man, miserable job. Nile Dok, his name is._

I wondered if that was why I was not being tortured. Either my story hit too close to home for Nile, or Erwin told him about me. Neither really made sense, but I was thankful.

“I see. I suppose I am going to die, then.”

“I wouldn’t rate your chances of survival. Let’s hope you’re a sweet talker so Zackley lets you live.”

Darius Zackley. I heard things about him too - head of the military, and a surprisingly depraved man. Notorious for his secret love of torture - Hanji and Moblit once talked about some things they’d overheard, and they were enough to cause unease to those with the strongest of stomachs.

“I don’t plan on grovelling, Mr. Dok.”

“Ah, so you have a shred of dignity,” he scoffed.

“If you see it that way, sir. I have no qualms about what I believe in.”

He did not say anything to that, and so we continued the rest of our journey in silence. We reached a dreary-looking building guarded by several gates. It took a dreadfully long time to get through them, but after we did, he walked up to the woman at the door and fished a piece of paper out of his pocket.

“Armin Arlert,” he read. “Under arrest for treason, defying the king, and conspiracy against the Royal House.”

I had not heard my sentence before then. I suppose I may have appeared flippant at the accusations held against me, but they now felt very real and very serious.

“This is where I leave you, Arlert.”

He walked away. Rather briskly, if I may add, and I wouldn’t blame him.

Exchanged between yet another pair of hands, the MP woman led me into a corridor lit by torches. The red brick walls and stone floors could have been homely if it wasn’t for the cell at the end of it.

Home. I’d probably never see my house again. My reading armchair, my endless supply of books and medical equipment - the MP would probably just burn them all. Erase every trace of the traitor who knew too much for his own good.

I wondered what they would tell everyone in my absence. What would my patients and co-workers hear? Carla and Grisha? When school starts up again, what would the parents be told?

_“Mr. Arlert, most unfortunately, was in a carriage accident last week. He’s dead.”_

I would most likely never see any of them again. Carla and Grisha would be left to age without anyone they know caring for them. My students would be given a teacher that didn’t know how each of them learned in different ways. My patients would be given a doctor who didn’t know their ailments and medical history like I did. Yes, I kept medical records, but reading from a paper to find out about a person isn’t the same as knowing them for years.

I had acted selfishly.

“I’ll bring you a change of clothes later,” the woman said, bringing me out of my now guilt-ridden thoughts. “You’ll get fed twice a day, and we’ll empty your chamber pot once a day, so use it wisely.” She untied my hands and pushed me into the cell. People tend to push you around a lot when you’re a criminal, it seems.

I sat down. The floor was hard, and the blanket that lay next to me looked like it wouldn’t provide much more cushioning. I was still wet from the rain earlier - my clothes clung to me and my hair felt greasy, so I let it out of its ponytail.

The MP locked my cell.

“Enjoy your stay.”

She was gone.

And that was it - I was left to wait for my court hearing. In the meantime, I’d have to think. Think of a plan, think of what to say, think of how to act.

And for two weeks, thinking is all I’ve continued to do.

**Author's Note:**

> See what I meant about having the compulsion kill off Eren in every story? Yeah, sorry about that.


End file.
